The “Merch Artists” are on the bottom of the pyramid because they represent a growing number of successful artists and because this genre has been considered and referred to as “low art” for years.

Admittedly, I’m biased towards this group because it’s the arena of art I create, it’s the art that I love and it is the genre that populates my growing collection of original art.

Pop Culture

The “Merch Artists” are the illustrators, designers, painters, cartoonists and artisans that are creating pop culture inspired art and merchandise for sale directly to the consumer.

They have become more plentiful as the rise of Comic, Sci-fi, Fantasy and Pop Culture conventions have become more popular.

The “Geek as Mainstream” phenomenom has allowed previously private loves and passions to become public and popular and experienced en masse.

This new creator relies heavily upon the internet and social media, is connected to pop culture and for the first time since before the industrial revolution, controls both the means of production and distribution.

These are the creative entrepreneurs who develop multiple revenue streams and are constantly testing out merchandise in order to hone their offering and understand their audience.

They create their art and use it again and again to create more stuff – all kinds of merchandise! and many are now seeing lucrative licensing deals in fabric, print, toys, packaging and much more.

New York City is one of the most eclectic art scenes in the world for artists and visitors. Symbols of artistic recognition and fame include prominent museums, leading edge galleries, cutting edge artists, top art critics, and trade shows like Art Expo.

Avoid the artists who tells you that they’ve “done it” and “it doesn’t work.” These artists will tell you that they contacted the right people, sent out the correct material, created the work that the public wanted, and even after doing all of this, they still didn’t get anywhere.